


The Diary Of Jack

by Jackel (Laughing_Fox)



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom
Genre: Heavy Angst, Horror, Other, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-18 10:32:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16116584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laughing_Fox/pseuds/Jackel
Summary: Jack, a man with a future, adjusts to the reality that his aspirations were shattered when he followed the wrong head just once and was betrayed, leaving him to be host to a demon he'd never heard of. Picked up by an entity who specialized in useful stragglers, he leaves behind what once was everything to him. Assimilating to his new future and family, he'll need to adjust the moral compass he's clung to since the day he was born.





	1. Found At Last

Jack shivered in the cold Boston winds, clutching his blackened and bloody hoodie closer to him in a vain attempt to keep warm, teeth chattering behind his ominous blue mask. He had wandered in the slums of Massachusetts for two weeks, ravenously feasting on anyone who happened upon him in a dark alleyway. He couldn't control himself, acting as a passenger in his own body. He couldn't see people, he could only smell and hear their heartbeats. All he saw was red until he ate, helpless to his appetite. But that wasn't a lifestyle he wanted for himself. He was supposed to become a doctor, to spite everyone who thought he'd amount to nothing, to help people and save their lives, to follow his dream of being a surgeon. It was all worthless now, he killed people, more than he wanted to keep track of. That was the opposite of what he was trying to do with his life, so he set out a new goal. Walk out to the Myles Standish forest until he collapsed and either froze to death or starved. It seemed more worthwhile than what he was doing with his life now. Jack was getting close now, he felt it inside. Step by step, his feet sludged through the thick snow surrounding his knees. His toes and fingers felt as though they surely had frostbite at this point, tingling numbness surging through with each subtle movement. Jack chuckled somberly as his body finally gave out and stumbled into the snow, engulfing him entirely. The risings and falls of his chest were short and ragged, a wounded animal that knows it's time to depart. He had done society a favor. Jack relaxed his body as he prepared himself for the new frontier of death, it was better this way. He would die without his family or friends knowing the absolute monster he'd become, which only made this easier to do. He felt the coldness seeping through his clothes as snow melted under him, and started to pile up on top. Jack gave a final sigh before fully giving in, this was an okay way to go.

 

A faint chill went down Jack's spine that caused his hair to rise as he suddenly sensed that someone was nearby. But it didn't smell like a person, he couldn't feel their pulse rushing through their veins. Whatever was close to him was something inhuman. Panic and survival instinct took over his body as adrenaline surged through his being. This new presence must be destroyed to preserve himself. He bared his teeth and snarled as he rolled over and prepared to pounce. Lifting his mask up to expose his mouth, he leaped out of the snow and onto the threat, viciously biting and tearing into the thick, long snake-like thing in front of him. The being exclaimed in surprise and pain and flung him brutally into a nearby tree, surprising Jack with the raw power behind its movements. He was forced to let go as his back connected to the bark of a particularly tall tree, yelping from the pain throughout his body as he dropped back into the snow like a rock. He didn't have the strength to get up and attack again. The tall slender being curled his injured extension close to him and rubbed it indignantly, approaching Jack again. The smaller of the two lay still in the snow, body ringing in agony, he was in no condition to fight again, so he braced himself for a swift death.

 

"I'm not here to harm you, Jack. I'm here to bring you home," The tall man extended a hand towards the injured one, showing his lack of malice, despite being previously attacked. It was something to expect on recruitment jobs. "But I won't take you by force."

 

Jack felt stunned, he hadn't gotten a good look before, but this creature had no face, no ears, no hair, and looked like a malformed octopus with all those extra appendages. He was absolutely terrified, and the only reason he hadn't already put some distance between himself and this beast was because he was incapable of moving without pain. Shakily, he took the tall man's hand. "I- I don't, I can't go back home like this."

 

"To my home, dear boy. With others like you. We've heard a lot about you, and they are very excited to meet someone new." The new creature hoisted Jack up and steadied him on his feet, despite his groans of protest. "Come along now, I'm a friend, I promise I can be trusted." He drew Jack close to him to support him and keep him from stumbling in the snow. The slender man wrapped a thick, oversized jacket around him as well, knowing he'd be cold. He looked down at Jack, making sure he'd be alright to walk. "Ready?"

 

Jack took a deep breath, looking forward at the expansion of snow and trees, then at his rescuer. "I'm ready."


	2. Meeting The New Family

'A whole group of people, just like me? Was there a support group full of victims of senseless sacrifices who lost their eyes? It sounds awful, but it'd be nice to not be alone.' Jack couldn't help the constant flow of questions racing through his mind as they approached "home". It was a weather-beaten wooden house that looked on the verge of decay, some of the windows looked like old stained glass, while the rest seemed fairly new, albeit grimy. Surrounding the front of the house were dead bushes, while the sides had large trees close by. The house itself was enormous, standing at four stories and an attic. Some of them had sliding glass doors that lead out onto sections of the roof, while others had balconies that stuck over the side. How big was this family?

 

Jack's new acquaintance, as he had come to get to know more since their trek through the woods, was known as the Slenderman, who preferred the terms Sir, Slenderman, and Slender, in that order. As of right now, he was Jack's only friend. He promised family, shelter, food, and an education, which was more than Jack could hope for at the moment. Aforementioned being placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder as Jack reached for the brass doorknob and turned it slowly, revealing the interior of the house, as well as one of the members of his new "family." 

 

A rather tall creature, monochrome in it's appearance. It sat on a chair facing a large tv, sharp teeth glinting as it laughed at Evil Con Carne. It was a goddamn clown. Jack immediately felt the urge to turn around and go back into the snow, but was too weak to dig his heels in as the Slenderman brought him further into the house to introduce them. The clown creature only looked more horrifying up close. It's nose was elongated and shaped like a cone, covered in black and white stripes. His fingers were closer to talons, and Jack was briefly reminded of the different types of hawks and eagles he learned about in grade school. The clown also dressed in the most atrocious overalls, combined with tons of bandages surrounding it's navel and hands. The only redeeming qualities for the outfit were the poofy black and white feathers on his shoulders, which were tempting to touch. Despite it's fluffy shoulders, it was still a g oddamn clown, and Jack hated clowns.

 

"Hey there friend, I'm Laughing Jack! It's great to meet another one of us!" The clown had an overly loud voice, and sounded as though he had snorted six pixie sticks straight. Jack unconsciously bristled and backed further into the hold of Slenderman, wanting to stay very far away from the other tall freak in the room. Laughing Jack, apparently oblivious to Jack's discomfort, stuck his clawed paw in front of the masked man's face to shake. "What's your name?"

 

With a gentle nudge from Slender, Jack tentatively reached out his left hand to gently grab onto of the talons and shake delicately. "I-I'm just regular Jack." The man tilted his head up at Slender for confirmation that he was doing alright, and silently begged in his head to leave the room and get away from the clown. Slender stepped away from behind Jack to stand by Laughing Jack, gesturing at him in a friendly manner.

 

"Jack, this is my good friend Laughing Jack, he's been with me since the very beginning, before I became a host. I expect you to treat him with the same respect you would treat me, and I'd like to affirm that he will do you no harm, as long as he is not provoked." Jack's hair stood on end at the ending tone of Slender's introduction, it sounded closer to a warning than a friendly joke. The clown looked at Jack with glee, barely able to contain himself. To the brunette, it was purely unsettling. Slender cleared his throat to bring Jack's attention back to him as he started walking off. "LJ will show you to your room to get settled. You missed dinner, so you'll have to come to breakfast tomorrow to meet the others, it's eight am sharp."

 

With that, Jack was left alone with the clown Jack, and the cartoon changed to Adult Swim. The masked man stood stiff as LJ circled him, a vulture looking for leftover meat on a carcass. Jack finally lost his patience and slapped LJ away once he started trying to sniff his chest. "What the f uck do you think you're doing you--!"

 

The monochrome clown laughed as he stood up straight again, fixing his nose. "Don't cha know?"

 

Jack crossed his arms over his chest defensively as he glared at the clown, taking a step back. "...Know what?"

 

LJ looked like he was going to have a stroke by the way he was giggling and bending over. "You're not human~ You don't smell like one. There's something, deeper, more sinister than even I am. What are you?" Now the clown wasn't laughing, but instead looking down at Jack with disdain, making the smaller man nervous.

 

"But, I am human. It's how I was born." Jack took another step back, ready to bolt off in the direction Slender disappeared to.

 

"No, no no no, you're not human anymore. Why else would you be able to see with no eyes? And you used your left hand to shake mine, they say that's a sign of evil in a person." LJ seemed to grow, looming at double Jack's height.

 

"I'm ambidextrous."

 

"But you still see that I'm a clown without any eyes to see," Laughing Jack cooed, scratching under Jack's chin lightly, tilting his head up to get a better look around the terrified man's head. "You're a God."

 

Jack was frozen in place as LJ inspected him and called him a God. Was it really that unlikely? He was sacrificed to some deity before he became this thing, and who was he to deny the sniffer of some ungodly clown? Jack took a deep breath and stepped back, rubbing the underside of his chin thoughtfully, and to remove the shivers he felt from the clowns graze. "I'd like to go to my room now, please."

 

"Sure thing!" Laughing Jack's attitude suddenly seemed chipper again, like he didn't just drop a bomb on the new housemate. He quickly took the lead, and Jack suddenly found himself sprinting to keep up with the clown. He was hoping to catch a better look at the interior, but he needed to focus on the turns that LJ was making. It was a second before Jack caught on that LJ was just taking him in circles around the ground floor and he stopped running, bent over to catch his breath. He lifted his head and glared at the clown from behind his mask as LJ noticed that he'd stop following. Laughing Jack lived up to his name and laughed, striding over to a door right by main one that Jack had come outside from. LJ opened it and allowed Jack inside before slamming it shut right behind him, cackling as Jack jumped. "What a nervous wreck! Loosen up Jacky." With that, LJ finally disappeared to leave Jack in peace.

 

Jack sighed as he allowed himself to unwind in the comfort of silence. He didn't want to piss of LJ, but god did he hate him. The masked man took a moment to swivel around and take in his surroundings. The whole room seemed normal enough. There were blackout curtains over the windows, and a second door to his left. He peeked in and it was a little bathroom, complete with a nice sized bathtub. His bed was fitted with black sheets, a black comforter, two black pillows and a dark blue one. Considering all the black, the blue pillow was comforting. He collapsed onto the bed, and it was surprisingly soft, He pulled the ribbons by the bed posts and released the flowing black lace curtains to conceal him in his bed. He felt like a rich old widow. He hadn't even bothered to take off his shoes, he was so exhausted, and it felt like forever since he got to sleep in a bed, nevermind one as comfortable and luxurious as this one. He took off his mask to put it down safely on the bedstand, but at the last second, he put it back on his face. He didn't want to risk anyone to see him so vulnerable if someone happened to come into his room before he was awake. He snuggled into the warm blankets and tried to forget about the day's hardships, and the hardships to come. For now, his only worry was getting a good night's sleep.


	3. Breakfast Is Disgusting And So Is Your Attitude

Jack was happily slumbering under the layers of thick blankets, it was the first comfort in a while and he wasn't about to give it up to meet a bunch of strangers for food he wouldn't be able to eat. Then again, it's possible he could get away with just eating all of them and keeping the whole house for himself rent free. Now that's the dream life. However, a very rude alarm clock woke him, and he grumbled under the blankets as the beeping became increasingly louder. He swore under his breath as someone knocked on his door after a whole minute of him ignoring his alarm. He finally gave in and slammed the snooze button on the preset alarm clock before getting up and adjusting his mask. He stretched for a moment and opened the door, mumbling more profanities under his breath about getting some decent sleep. He looked up and stared at the faceless face of the Slenderman, who immediately left for the kitchen area, beaconing for Jack to follow, which he did reluctantly. He was almost halfway hoping he imagined the whole insane thing, as cliche as it sounded.

 

Rubbing his face under his mask, he walked into the kitchen to be greeted by several people sitting at a very large table, breakfast already sitting and waiting to be consumed. Taking a look around, the interior of the house was actually very high quality, he wouldn't have guessed it from the shoddy view from the outside. The only thing that stuck out in the room was a long square wooden beam right in the middle, covered in deep crevices, cuts, scratches, and splinters. Jack raised his eyebrow to it, but didn't ask. Slender pulled out a chair for Jack to sit before sitting at his place at the head of the table. Jack sat down in his spot, between Slender, and a very pale kid with red cuts around his mouth. Jack glanced at each face around the table and felt relief that he wasn't the only one with a mask, but he also felt slightly less special. There was a man who's mask was split down the middle with two different colors, black and white. There was one that had, in Jack's opinion, a very effeminate mask despite the manly body, and one that didn't seem so much as a mask as a black cloth with a frowny face stitched into it. The only one's without their faces covered seemed to be Slender, LJ, and that pale kid. Jack then realized that as he had been staring at everyone, everyone had also been staring at him, and he felt self conscious for it. He looked down at his plate in disdain as he realized he'd have to reject the food they so graciously granted him. Regular food made him sick, and it tasted like shit to him. Before he could voice his thoughts, Slender interrupted him.

 

"The food's alright for you to consume, give it a try."

 

Jack squinted at it before lifting his mask ever so slightly, barely exposing his lower lip as he tentatively took in a forkful. It actually did taste decent to his surprise. He was about to shovel the whole plate into his mouth before Slender touched his shoulder delicately, a silent reminder that he needed manners in front of everyone. He wasn't in the streets anymore, he didn't need to eat it all at once. Jack swallowed nervously as he realized they were still staring at him, and he gave a halfhearted wave to hopefully break the awkward atmosphere. Immediately they all looked away at either the wall, ceiling, or their plate.

 

'I guess they didn't realize I could see them back.' Jack was about to take in another bite before he was interrupted by the kid, who was staring at him without shame. Actually he might have been staring the whole time, because his eyes didn't look like he had blinked in a really long time. That's when Jack realized that this kid didn't have any eyelids at all, in fact they seemed to have been burned off entirely. What kind of tortured refugee rescue child was this?

 

"You have no eyes."

 

Jack stared at him for a really long time, trying to figure out a comeback to such a forward statement. "Oh, well, yeah no s hit, and you look like a Ronald McDonald reject." Jack tried not to stutter, but still delivered the burn pretty weakly. He felt he did okay, until he heard the fork clatter from across the table where the lady masked man sat. Jack looked at him like a deer in the headlights and knew by the glare behind the mask that he might've pushed it a little far. However he was saved as the kid snorted and tore into his bacon, sandwiched between two waffles. Jack shrugged at the lady mask, he could be angry but the kid laughed, and that made it okay by default. Before he could get back to his food, he was interrupted once more by this kid.

 

"So you're Eyeless Jack then? I'm Jeff the Killer."

 

Jack would've spit out his food if he had gotten the chance to put it in his mouth. Did this little kid just say 'the Killer'?! This wasn't going to fly, Jack wouldn't live with some prick who dubbed himself a killer, especially if it was true. After getting over the initial shock, he also realized that this little a sshole just called him eyeless, as a name. Jack sat up straighter and looked at the kid with annoyance. "Actually my name is just Jack, thank you very much."

 

Jeff was still talking in between bites of his food, not really paying attention to Jack anymore. "But it makes more sense if your name is Eyeless Jack, 'cause there's two Jacks. We call Laughing Jack his name because he's always laughing. Masky is called his name because he wears a mask, Hoodie because he wears a hoodie, Slender because he's skinny, and uh, KageKao is just special."

 

Jack was bristling as Jeff went off about what made sense to his little walnut brain. "What kind of self-loathing sorry b astard would want to be reminded he has no eyes every time someone wants to talk to him? My name is Jack, just Jack, nothing else but Jack, do you understand me?" Jack hadn't noticed, but his words had gone colder and more curt by the second, basically spitting venom by the time he finished. He wiped his mouth with the napkin and dropped it on his plate to cover the uneaten food. "Thanks for breakfast." Jack pushed in his chair and took off back to his room, his newfound sanctuary. He really wasn't a people person, and didn't want to deal with the confronting glares of the rest of the table he knew he'd receive. His first day and he already felt unwelcome. This was a mistake, at least in Mass he didn't have to deal with people gawking at him, because he'd just eat them if they did. Jack kicked off his shoes and crawled back into bed, still a little hungry. Maybe he'd hibernate and wait till they forgot he was home, then he'd have a second chance to reintroduce himself to them. Either way, he wouldn't be going out for a while.

 

Just as he had settled for another deep sleep, a knock happened on his door, though the unwelcome guest didn't wait for his response before opening his door anyways. "Jack? I brought the rest of your breakfast for you." Slender's familiar voice carried through the room, prompting Jack to sit up and peer from behind the black lace netting surrounding his bed. Sure enough, there stood Slender with his plate of food. Slender took the opening as an invitation and sat beside Jack, placing the food in his lap.

 

The masked man sighed and quietly started to dig in. "Thank you, this is appreciated." Even as it was getting cold, the food still tasted like a juicy heaven.

 

"You don't like it here."

 

Jack's head jerked up as his mouth started to fill up with apologies, tripping over each other. "What? No, no. It's just, you know it's an adjustment for me, and it's my first day, give me a week to get assimilated and I'll be happy enough to be here, I promise."

 

Slender chuckled. "There's no need to lie Jack, I wouldn't drop you from my care for the mere crime of discontent. But, I do need you to be aware of what we as a whole do for the world. You were shocked, and frankly disgusted when you found out what Jeff has as his label, you cannot hide it from me, and evidently by your tone, you weren't trying to hide it from anyone else either. It is what we do, Jack. We are all labelled as killers, and you need to accept that. There's no benefit to beating around the bush, because you're already part of that label, what with that appetite of yours." Slender looked down at Jack, who had stopped eating, his mind working to process what the surreal creature had just told him.

 

"So... you're all a bunch of murderers? Of course you are, why would I believe for a second that this was just a sanctuary for poor b astards like me?" The brunette took a long deep breath before facing his superior. "You might as well throw me out now, because I refuse to play a part in this fucking madhouse. Why, for all I know, I might just be delirious! It would make more sense than the magical lightpost leading a gang of murderous psychos in masks plus a couple of clowns, who all live in a cabin mansion in the woods--" Jack was cut off with a pained gasp as Slender tightly wound a tentacle around his wrist, slowly coiling around him tighter.

 

"This is no delusion, I can assure you that right now." Jack tried desperately to tug himself free of the crushing grip as Slender remained completely unfazed, face, or lack thereof, impossible to read. "Do not make light of this. Having a cannibal in our ranks poses a huge risk, one I would not have taken if I didn't think you were imperative to my house and its residents." Slenderman loosened his grip slightly, but not enough for the brunette to remove his hand. "You have a formal education, no? Almost two years of college, and in a medical program no less. That's invaluable to me, seeing as our line of work leaves us occasional injuries."

 

"I'm also an engineer," Jack wheezed out, still very much in pain from the relentless grip. Thinking quick, Jack let his arm go limp, as though he had given up. "I was primarily learning how to be a surgeon, you're hurting a surgeon's hand." The reaction was immediate as Slender released him fully, as though someone had told him he'd been manhandling a priceless vase. Jack sighed in relief and rubbed his wrist gently, holding it close to his chest as to avoid another painful confrontation. Slender stood, body language relaying the slight anxiety that he may have injured his brand new tool before he even got to use him. Because all in all, isn't that what Jack was now? Just a tool in a cause he didn't believe in. Slender faced Jack, regaining his composure before speaking.

 

"There's a facility still being set up for you that you may use as a medical wing. We cannot provide much, it'll be up to you to build up your own stock, though don't hesitate to ask one of us for assistance, if you should need it." Jack nodded his understanding, picking up his plate of food that Slender had brought him and eating again. "Oh that reminds me, you should go thank your cook for making the meal for you."

 

Jack nodded again, swallowing his mouthful. "Who made it? It's pretty good."

 

Slender stood by the doorway, hand on the doorknob to exit. "Laughing Jack of course."

 

The brunette gagged and immediately regurgitated his meal, a pile of red slime on his plate and a sinking feeling in his gut as Slender left the room. He could've sworn he heard soft laughter echoing in his head before a familiar voice came to him.

 

"Worry not, he didn't poison it. That would be his candies."

 

That didn't leave Jack feeling any easier.


	4. Scrub Away

Despite how long the morning felt, it was still morning, and Jack still had a whole day to get through. He didn't want to deal with the others, not yet. And judging by the atmosphere when he left his room to clear his plate, they weren't ready to deal with him either. Jack had slept too much to fall back into bed so soon, but there wasn't much else to do. Sitting on his bed, Jack became acutely aware of how grimy he was. After all he hadn't showered in weeks, and frankly he was starting to feel increasingly uncomfortable, skin crawling the longer he realized he was covered in filth. The brunette decided to take advantage of the attached bathroom and take a hot shower, it should at least help clear his mind. Standing up, he reluctantly removed his mask and placed it on the nightstand at his bedside. Before taking off however, he made sure to lock his door, preventing any unwanted guests.

 

The bathroom was bigger than the one he had at home. Nicer too. He peeled off the layers of muddied clothing and stepped into the shower before pulling the shower curtain athwart, revealing the checkered pattern. Jack turned to the shower knobs and squinted. 'How the f uck am I supposed to turn this on-?' He reached out to the outer knobs and fiddled with them to no avail, why were other people's showers so d amn complicated? It wasn't until he got frustrated and yanked on one of them that icy water came spouting from the showerhead. Jarred by the sudden onslaught of freezing water spraying down on him, he jumped back to evade the offending blast, reaching around to pull at the opposite knob and waiting for the water to even out.

 

Once the water hit a reasonably warm temperature, Jack permitted himself to be embraced into the comforting water, sighing as he allowed himself to be calmed by the sounds of water hitting the granite acrylic bathtub at his feet. With that deep exhale, it felt as though a heavy weight was lifted off his chest and he could finally let his shoulders sag. Jack ran his fingers through his hair, the water cascading down and soaking him. He watched the slick floor as water, dark with dirt and grime, ran past him and down the drain. It was the first time he really got a look at himself since the incident. So it was a little surprising when he discovered he was an ashen grey all over.

 

'I thought my hands just had frostbite or something...' The brunette frowned as he examined his body, it was a uniform color of grey all over. He took the loofa from the shower counter and slathered it with soap before scrubbing at his forearm.

 

'It's just dirt is all.'

 

The bubbles frothed against his skin as he scrubbed his arm. The dirt was washing away, he could see it, but the color wasn't changing. He was still grey. He scrubbed harder, all along the length of his arm, right up until his skin felt raw from the vigorous cleansing. The water felt burning now, his skin should've been bright pink but it remained unchanged.

 

"It's just dirt."

 

'I need to keep scrubbing.'

 

Jack's breath was shaky as he kept scrubbing, despite the stinging sensations along his skin, switching to other arm until it felt raw as well. He didn't stop until he felt something drip onto his scathing arm. A single black drop. Then another. Hands quivering, he touched his cheek tentatively, the source. Pulling his hand away, he saw it was covered in black tar, which he shouldn't have been surprised about. He reached slightly higher and let his fingers explore where his eye should've been. It was nothing but a slow sludge of tar. He probed deeper, pressing his fingers gently inside. 'How deep does this go, can I wash it out?' It was warm and thick, up to an inch of his finger was enveloped before he was met with a sudden vengeful flash of red that forced him to remove it. He gasped in pain and grabbed the curtain for support as he hunched over. It was a moment before he could regain his composure. He looked to the shower curtain and, instead of the familiar black tar he expected to see, he saw a bright red color, which was also coating his fingers.

 

"Oh, okay. That's blood."

 

Internally panicked about the sudden sight of blood, Jack's body moved calmly, taking the hand under the showerhead and rinsing it off. It wasn't rinsing off however, in fact it seemed to be spreading across his hands and dripping down them, until the water cascading down seemed to be red as well. Jack added more soap and scrubbed at his hands, wanting the red to go away, please go away. But scrubbing only seemed to make it slicker, until the loofa was stained and dripping with blood.

 

"F uck! F uck make it stop--!" Jack's breathing became labored as the panic increased, choking on his fear. He was covered head to toe in blood that seemed to just keep pouring. He slammed the middle knob down to turn off the shower, quickly turning off the other two, but he was still covered in the slick substance. He sunk down to the floor of the tub and covered his sockets with his fists, not wanting to see. He just felt the liquids dripping down his back and shoulders from his soppy hair.

 

'You can wash away the blood from your hands, but never from your mind.'

 

Jack sucked in a lungful of air as he heard the voice in his head, lifting his head up to see who spoke to him, but the bathroom was empty. He furrowed his brow and looked around him, the blood was gone. It was just water, and a few streaks of sticky black tar.

 

He spared no time in leaving the bathroom.


	5. Jeffery

Stepping out of the doorway with a towel loosely around his waist and his clothes under his arm, Jack quickly slammed the bathroom door shut. Only now was he able to take a calming breath and survey his room. Immediately, his gaze caught the pile of clean clothes casually sitting on his bed.

 

"So much for locking the door..." Jack felt the energy just drain from his body, even his locked little room wasn't safe from prying eyes. It was a nice gesture though, so he'd let it slide for the moment. It wasn't like he had anything more than the clothes on his back anyways, might as well build up a wardrobe again. The brunette donned on the new outfit and smiled as he looked down at the familiar Nirvana smiley face logo. 'Someone did their homework on me.' Jack was about to put the hoodie back on over the outfit, but stopped once he got a good whiff of it, maybe he'd find the laundry room first. But that meant leaving the room and having to ask someone.

 

Groaning, Jack balled up his dirty laundry and slid the mask back on before opening the door. It felt weird to leave the room and immediately be in the living room. He was also right next to the front door, which helped him feel a little better. When in doubt, know your way out. Hearing the familiar sounds of the tv, Jack turned to look at Jeff sitting on the couch, carefully trying to drink a Budweiser bottle, much of it spilling out of the sides of his mouth where the cuts were. The taller man promptly strided over to him and snatched the drink from his hands.

 

"What the h ell do you think you're drinking?! You're like fourteen--" Jeff glared up at him, standing up to meet Jack's stance above him.

 

"It's called a beer, and I'm fifteen so I'll be taking back my drink, thanks." His bleached white hand grabbed hold of the bottle, trying to wrestle it out of Jack's grip, but Jack's arm raised it above his head so he couldn't reach it.

 

"Nah ah little man, this stuff," Jack shook the bottle tantalizingly, "is for the grown-ups." The taller man walked off and quickly gulped down the contents of the bottle, ignoring Jeff's protests. Wasn't there any sort of order in this house? He'd caught a fifteen year old trying to guzzle alcohol like it was chocolate milk during recess.

 

"What are you, my f ucking dad? Give it back!" Jeff angrily punched Jack in the back, trying to at least get his attention. The brunette turned around, looked down at him, and chugged what remained before placing the empty bottle on the table.

 

"I could very easily rip out your heart, eat it, and then have a cappuccino. Do not test me." Jack turned to leave, but turned back around, mildly embarrassed. "Hey... you wouldn't happen to know where the laundry is, would you? My clothes smell like a couple week's worth of blood and sweat, and it's kind of gross."

 

Jeff scowled up at him. "You drink my beer, threaten to eat me, and now you want me to do your laundry? F uck you." Jeff glared at him momentarily before sighing, grabbing Jack's wrist. "Come on then, I'm only showing you once. And you're getting me another beer, that was the last one in the house."

 

'I'm definitely not getting this kid any more alcohol--' Jack allowed himself to be led by the cut-faced boy, bemused. Right through the kitchen and a right turn at the backdoor was the laundry room, it was a moderate size, with a few shelves lined with plastic grey tubs and bottles of fabric softener. The washer and dryer looked worn and beaten up, and, upon closer inspection, Jack noticed many webs lining the corners and crevices of the room. "Spiders?"

 

"Just Daddy Longlegs, they're basically harmless." Jeff shrugged off the statement as he set up the dials for the washer and took the clothes from Jack, throwing in an unmeasured amount of soap and slamming the lid shut, the machine rumbling to life. The raven haired boy turned to face Jack, arms crossed over his chest. "Now, about my beer--"

 

"I am not going to incarcerate myself to get you alcohol, end of story! You're a little kid and you don't need to be killing off anymore brain cells than you already have." Now it was Jack's turn to fold his arms, a disappointed aura coming off of him in waves. "Besides, it's not like there's a convenience store around here, just acres and acres of endless trees," Jack sighed exasperated, letting his arms flop to his side in annoyance.

 

Jeff's heavily constricted pupils looked upwards, as though trying to perform a defiant eyeroll. "Oh cluck cluck Mother Hen, I don't need you to babysit me. Fine, I'll go get my own then." Jeff shoved past Jack and towards the doorway, only to be stopped as the brunette grabbed hold of his shoulder.

 

"And where exactly do you plan on getting alcohol in the middle of nowhere as a minor?" Jack raised an eyebrow from under his mask, forgetting that Jeff wouldn't be able to see.

 

The ebony haired kid looked at Jack, a little shocked as he put one hand on his hip. "They really didn't teach you about this? They had me drilled on it the first day I came in, but sure yeah they're just going to get lazy with making you learn anything basic. Guess I get to teach you all the fun new perks of being one of us." Jeff grabbed Jack's wrist again, practically dragging him. "Come along Mother Hen!"

 

Jack, taken unexpectedly by the sudden mood change, had no choice but to follow along or risk stumbling with the force Jeff had hidden in his relatively average stature. "Hey, wait-- where are we going?"

 

The boy in the white hoodie grinned, a noticeable difference from the carved one, as he glanced back at Jack. "Well, where's somewhere you've always wanted to go?"


	6. New Orleans

Jeff didn't wait for an answer from Jack, dragging him up the stairs, down the hall, and into his room. Jack only caught a brief glimpse of the mess before being yanked into the conjoining bathroom, the door slamming shut behind him. What was it with these people and slamming things?

 

"Take off your mask."

 

Jack was taken aback by the sudden request, but he should know by now that Jeff didn't beat around the bush with his blunt questions and requests. Nevertheless, taking off his mask was an absolute no-go. He couldn't explain it, but it made him feel vulnerable and naked without it, the few times he tried it anyways. "Yeah, no. The mask stays on kiddo." Jack affirmed the statement with a firm hand over the blue material covering his face.

 

"You like being difficult, don't you?" Jeff groaned, giving the brunette an irritated glare. "Come on, you can't be any uglier than Tim, sorry, Masky."

 

'Is that really Masky's real name?' Jack shook his head, clearing his mind. "Why do you want me to do this so badly anyways? It doesn't matter where I want to go, I can't, not when I look like, well, this." The taller one gestured at himself exasperated and sagged his shoulders, sitting on the closed toilet. That's why he didn't want to take off his mask, he didn't want to see what he looked like now, he didn't want anyone to see, ever. It would only confirm what he already thought of himself.

 

Jeff looked like he was about to strangle the ashen skinned man. "That why I need you to take your dumb mask off! I'm gonna put stuff on you to make you look like a normal human. I've done it tons of times to go out and I've gotten pretty good at it, I need to practice on another person, and no one else ever wants to go to the outside with me, so you're it." Jeff pulled out a large makeup bag from behind the mirror, the contents tossed in carelessly. "Take off the mask and I'll show you how it's done."

 

Jack swallowed as he thought about it. He wanted to be able to go out again, be out there with the people. But he didn't want to take off his mask, not ever, and not in front of Jeff. He looked up at the kid standing over him, waiting for an answer. Maybe, just one person wouldn't hurt. Besides, if he was going to survive in this house, he needed an ally, and this seemed like the easiest way to do it. Jack took a deep breath, and then another one before letting his hand fall from his mask. With his now free hand, he grabbed Jeff's to place it on the blue mask delicately. "I can't, so you do it."

 

Jeff was quiet, he suddenly felt very responsible for this near stranger, who trusted him to remove the mask. He carefully lifted up the mask, revealing Jack's grey face. The bleached teen smiled gently as he took it all the way off, would it be rude to stare him in the 'eyes' or rude not to? The mask was gently placed on the sink counter. Jeff turned to the other man, who had covered his face with his hands, out of shame, out of fear, he couldn't tell. But he was oddly determined to make sure he helped this man. Jeff gingerly grabbed Jack's hands and moved them from his face, the leaky tar already streaming down his cheeks as Jack avoided his gaze. Jeff smirked, punching Jack lightly.

 

"Told you that you couldn't be any uglier than Masky."

 

It made Jack smile.

 

~*~

 

 

Jack was sweating under the layers of skin colored make up, but it was worth it to hear music in the air again. Jeff had lent him one of six white hoodies he owned. They also wore matching black sunglasses to hide their eyes, Jack using plugs to keep his tar from spilling out. It had taken a total of three hours to complete the look, mostly because Jack wouldn't stop fidgeting under Jeff's hands, but they could pass off as normal as long as no one looked to closely. In case anyone did, Jeff had a small knife strapped to his ankle.

 

"And we're just allowed to go out whenever we want?" Jack muttered with slight awe. He didn't really see Slender as the type to let them roam around, considering he even made them eat meals on schedule.

 

Jeff nodded assertively. "Mm. We just have to check in every once in a while so he knows we're not caught, or dead." The shorter of the two turned to Jack, tilting his head questioningly. "Why here?"

 

"I came here once when I was ten or so, I remember it being a lot of fun," Jack smiled, thinking back to old memories. "We saw a parade, someone let me play with their trombone, and we visited by the Lalaurie mansion, but couldn't go inside because my sisters got so scared." Jack let out a chuckle.

 

"Sounds like fun..." Jeff trailed off, suddenly aloof, staring out past a horizon Jack couldn't see. The brunette walked alongside awkwardly as he looked away, had he overshared just a little bit?

 

"Hey so, um," Jack broke the silence, rubbing his neck. "About that drink, I'll get you one for taking me out here. Just one though." The taller male feigned a stern scowl at Jeff, trying to add some levity to the sudden somber atmosphere.

 

Jeff just snorted, restoring amity. "There you go clucking again, Mother Hen! I'll give you the money, you just use that ID to make sure we get the drinks." Jack sighed quietly in relief, he shouldn't scare off the one semi friend he had at the moment with too much chatter about his life. He was almost tempted to question the killer about his own family, but decided against it for the moment.

 

"Good thing I had this in my pocket then, huh?" Jack flashed his drivers license. He always had it on him, even in his final moments. While he was only twenty years old, in New Orleans it was just a little bit more relaxed when it came to alcohol.

 

Jeff walked a little closer to his counterpart, and the two made their way down the street alive with people and music and noise, a cacophony of life surrounding them. Humans, completely unaware and uncaring of the two evils roaming freely amongst them. Jack was never a people person, but it felt so liberating to be out in the open with the crowds. The brunette was keeping an eye out for a place to drink as Jeff drank up the sights of the new environment. Finally, Jack found what he was looking for, clicking his tongue for Jeff to follow.

 

"Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop? Jack, I know you don't have eyes, but I thought you'd be able to tell the difference between a bar and a shop." Jeff crossed his arms, disappointed in the brunette's poor judgement. Jack chuckled and tilted Jeff's head to get a look at the cross street signs. Bourbon and St. Philip.

 

"This is the oldest bar in New Orleans, dating all the way back to 1772. We should be able to get drinks here just fine." Jack pushed the door open, hearing the familiar jingle of a small bell overhead. Jeff followed close behind, gazing at the old brick and wood interior. It certainly looked ancient, what with the gentle lighting and all. Despite it being mid-afternoon, the place was alive and full with people consuming meats and liquor like no tomorrow, it felt like a warm joyful place. It set Jack at ease, but seemed to be stressing Jeff quite a bit. The brunette sensed his discomfort and motioned for the small killer to stay behind him as he headed for a booth in the far corner, a little ways away from the crowd. Almost as soon as they sat down, a waitress was upon the duo, notepad in hand.

 

"Anything I can get you two fellas?" She spoke with the faux happy-but-dead-inside customer service voice Jack recognized from his own days working a part time job. Glancing over at Jeff first, he turned back to the stout young waitress and flashed a smile, temporarily forgetting he was flashing fangs, but the woman didn't seem to notice, or care.

 

"A beer for me please, and uh, a kid's meal for my friend here," Jack spoke confidently, leaning over the table slightly.

 

The waitress, evidently Bretta by her name tag, eyed Jack and sized up the duo. "Can I see an ID please?"

 

"Absolutely miss," Jack whipped out his driver's licence, handing it over between his fingers. Bretta glanced it over and pursed her lips, dropping the niceties a smidge.

 

"Jack Nichols?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Born in '84?"

 

"...Yes."

 

Bretta raised an eyebrow at Jack, who had gone from cocky and flirtatious to mildly sheepish and embarrassed. "And what year is it right now?"

 

"Almost 2005...?" Jack mumbled out, Jeff snickering from the side.

 

"Mhm, out you go." Bretta grimaced, handing Jack back his drivers licence. Jack, defeated, pocketed it again and murmured something about the place being cooler in the 90's as he motioned for Jeff, who was still laughing at him for making a fool of himself, to follow him out of the booth and out of the bar.

 

"It wasn't that funny--"

 

"Oh yeah it was," Jeff cackled. "Now, where are we going to get my alcohol?"

 

"Is it really that important that you get this? I wanna go home." The brunette sighed, turning to walk away from the building. Normally it was very easy to get what he wanted from strangers, he had the bread and butter for that. Maybe it was the makeup that made him so easily deniable.

 

"Yes, my very life depends on it." Jeff crossed his arms, prepared to argue before realizing that Jack was already walking.

 

"Die then." Jack spoke bitterly, walking faster. This little expedition hadn't helped his self esteem any, just made it much, much worse. The itch to have his mask back to protect his face was almost unbearable, and he was having deep regrets about leaving it at home. Jeff sighed and Jack could practically see him making the same attempt to roll his eyes.

 

"Ugh, fine. Just slow down and we'll go home." The teen picked up the pace to speedwalk next to the brunette, the two headed for the woods. Entering the treeline, Jack suddenly felt more at ease. Perhaps he was meant to be one of them after all, secluded away in the woods, only coming out in the cover of darkness when no one would see what they were.

 

Jack took a deep breath before turning to Jeff. "I'm sorry for snapping at you kid, I didn't mean to do that. Can you take us home now?"

 

"No."

 

Jack leaned back. "Wh- n-no? What do you mean no? How are we supposed to get home then?"

 

The raven haired boy shrugged. "I showed you how to maneuver around the woods, didn't I? Do it, get some practice, send us home. You remember the steps, right?"

 

The brunette ran his tongue over his sharpened teeth nervously before nodding. "Um, alright. I place my foot... here?"

 

"Not helping you. Trust your guts." Jeff's face was deadpan, arms crossed. Clearly, he was pissed with Jack's lack of initiative in getting him shitfaced. Jack bit his lip anxiously and performed the nifty little footwork needed to get him where he wanted to go. Jeff spoke up again, slightly more encouraging this time. "Just think about home when you're doing that, like Dorothy."

 

'No place like home.'

 

Jack concentrated on 'home', just the feeling of being where he was supposed to be. He was focused on the ground, making sure his footing was correct as Jeff grabbed a fistful of his hoodie to keep them together. Home, home. Go home. The taller man felt the air around him shift, they were going, he managed to get it right! He was breathless, shocked that this seemingly almost stupid little dance and thought bubble could actually get him moving places, like some sort of wizard. Giddy, he looked up and confidently walked forward out of the treeline, which seemed to be layered in snow. Had there been a storm while they were gone? Strange that it could happen so quickly, but maybe time properties were different with them too, now that would be pretty neat. Jack almost didn't notice the tugging of his sleeve until he saw the houses, and all sense of accomplishment fell away, replaced with crippling fear instead.

 

"Jack, where are we?"


	7. Home Is Where The Heart Is

"We need to go, right now." Jack urgently ushered Jeff back into the woods, desperate to leave as soon as humanly possible. Jeff was still gazing wide eyed at the array of buildings and trees, it didn't seem like a dangerous place. But a sharp yank of his arm brought him back to attention, and he attempted to wrench his limb from Jack's grip.

 

"Why, what's here?" It was no longer a soft curiosity, but one that demanded an answer. The brunette continued his efforts to drag the teen, but Jeff was digging in his heels. Jack huffed, letting go and looking at Jeff pleadingly.

 

"Come on, let's just go home-- I'll get you a whole case of whatever you want, okay? Even if I have to steal it, we just need to leave, right now." There was an edge to his voice, like he had a frantic little bird in his chest trying to escape. "I want to go home."

 

It was that moment Jeff caught on to why Jack wanted to leave so badly. He nodded quietly, walking along with the brunette back into the thick of the woods. Jack seemed relieved, but still close to that cliffdrop, nervous as the little bird in his chest. It didn't go unnoticed by the surly teen, who took Jack's wrist and led the way back home. With each step closer to bringing them home, the taller one calmed down, until he found himself removing his wrist from Jeff's hand, walking beside him in silence, footsteps muffled by the snow. It was enough time for Jack to compose himself back into his usually calm demeanor, not that he really had the time to be calm anymore in his new environment. But maybe this would be one of those things that took time, it was only day two after all.

 

"Hey Jeff," Jack croaked, after a long moment. "Does it ever feel like... This is a lot? I'm sure I'm not phrasing it as well as I could, but that's all that comes to mind. This is a lot, very fast. Yesterday I thought I'd never see home again, a week ago I couldn't think at all. A month ago I was debating how much green onion I should add to my dollar ramen. This doesn't feel like it's happening as it's happening. I mean, what are we now? Supernatural? Evil? The whole concept seems so... Stupid."

 

Jeff just listened patiently, waiting for Jack to finish. "Uhhh... Yeah I guess. I like this better than my old home though. No school, no pressure, and I can stab anyone who p isses me off. It's really freeing." Jeff looked up at Jack, only to be met with a rather distraught expression from the taller man. "Look I didn't think I was going to go anywhere with my life, especially after I basically sent my brother to juvie."

 

The discomfort was basically radiating from Jack. Sure he wasn't the perfect angel in adolescence, but he never sent family off to the equivalent of kid prison. He could see the hurt expression on Jeff's face, and became suddenly aware of his own facial expressions. Another reason to not leave that mask behind again. The brunette needed to speak quickly though, or he might risk losing his ally. "So, what's going on with your brother now?"

 

"He's dead. And that's my fault too." Jeff was staring at the ground, not wanting to be met with another disappointed look. "I don't really want to talk about my family. That's over."

 

Jack frowned, sliding his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry about your brother. But, I get that. It's over for me as well. I mean, what family wouldn't freak if they saw us? I could never go back to them."

 

"Yeah, but you haven't talked to your family since you left for college. They're still there, you just don't want to go see them." It was Jeff's turn to give Jack a look. "Your siblings are still there, your parents are alive, what's stopping you? You're the victim so it'd be fine."

 

'I'd like to know how he knows anything about my family--' Jack was taken aback by the resentment in Jeff's voice. "Okay, yes, I'm a victim, but I also killed and ate people. That's not exactly something I can come back from. Don't snap at me just because you're emotionally inarticulate," Jack huffed, pausing as he leaned by a tree. "Hold on, I'm getting a headache." Jack took off the sunglasses and took out the plugs over his sockets, an upsurge of black tar spilling over and splashing against the snow, leaving a patch of black against white. It didn't feel hot to Jack, but the steam rising up seemed to disagree.

 

"Oh f uck that's gross." Jeff looked sick, his face scrunched up as he held his stomach.

 

"I'm not asking you to watch my eyes throw up you know." Jack leaned over for a few more moments before standing up straight and putting the sunglasses back on, sliding the plugs in his pockets to keep for later. He turned to Jeff and pointed to his sunglasses on his face. "I count this as another reason I don't see myself paying a visit to the folks." The brunette walked past Jeff, mildly irritated. "How long till we get to the house? I have a hot date with my blanket and mattress."

 

It wasn't a minute before the house came into view, Jack didn't wait for Jeff to catch up. It was mesmerizing watching the snow turn to straight dirt as Jack crossed into the territory, but he was too focused on getting inside and getting to his mask, hoping it was still in the same place. Jeff jogged to keep up as Jack reached the door, pushing it inwards and almost slamming into Masky.

 

"Where the have you two been?" Masky snarled, standing in Jack's way. "I should-"

 

Jack was growing more agitated by the second. "I will CONSUME you."

 

He could practically see the pupils behind the white mask shrink as Masky scrambled away. No lecture was worth getting eaten over, and Jack didn't care if he injured Masky's ego, his only concern was getting to that mask. There was a small part of him awed that he had been able to speak like that though, and evidently Jeff felt the same by his stunned stance in the doorway.

 

"Jack? Jack wait-" Jeff followed after him as he went up the stairs, footsteps pounding. Jack ignored him, skidding down the hall and into Jeff's room. A big sigh of relief left him as his mask came into view and he rushed over to it, placing it over his face immediately. A little more relaxed, he turned to face Jeff entering the room.

 

"Look, I appreciate you taking me out, but this," he gestured at himself, "is just not suitable for the public anymore." Jack threw up his hands and moved past Jeff. "I need a nap."

 

Jeff grabbed hold of the white hoodie he'd lent to Jack, effectively stopping him in his tracks. "Wait for a sec, would you? How, how did you do that thing downstairs? With the talking like that- I didn't know you spoke any other languages."

 

Jack froze, his eyebrows scrunched up as he ran his tongue over his teeth nervously and turned to face Jeff again. "I'm sorry, I did what now?"

 

"Yeah! You were all like 'sue sept te meanie snaggnoc tee hee' blah blah but it sounded really cool." Jeff was looking up at Jack with a new awe in his expression, dazzled by his outburst at Masky.

 

"Alright I think you need a nap as well because I recall very distinctly yelling at him in English." Jack shook his head at the shorter boy, surely he'd be hearing it if he spoke another language. At best, Jack remembered a few phrases from Spanish Two in highschool, and what Jeffrey was babbling about sounded nothing like that. Jack was about to leave before realizing he was still wearing the white hoodie. Right, he should probably give it back. "Here, I won't be needing this again." He pulled the hoodie over his head, mindful to not get tar on it, and handed it over to Jeff, feeling a little chilled now that said hoodie was off.

 

Jeff bundled up the white material and tucked it under his arm as he gave his attention back to Jack. "I know what I heard, and I bet Masky would back me up too."

 

"Of course he would, he hates me and would probably say the sky was green if it made me sound like an idiot." Jack sighed, straightening up. "I'm going to bed now."

 

"What? It's barely six, we still have to eat dinner."

 

"Tragic, tell them I ate before we got home and I'm tired." Jack waved him off and attempted to leave again, only to be blocked by the angsty teen in the doorway. This was getting really old, really fast, and he was starting to try Jack's patience.

 

"Hey! You can't just go to bed everytime something sucks, there's stuff we have to do."

 

Jack cocked an eyebrow at Jeff. "Really? You really want to tell me what to do? Fine." He pushed past Jeff and sat defiantly on the teen's bed. "Then I'll sleep here since you won't let me go to my bed."

 

"What? No! Get the f uck out of my room-" But it was too late. Jack had layed down and and rolled himself into the blankets. Jeff tried to pull him off the bed to no avail. "Fine! But you're gone after I come back." Jeff huffed and turned heel to leave, a satisfied Jack still in the room behind him.

 

'Finally, some good sleep.' Jack rolled over in the bed, the mattress was harder than his, and the red and black plaid blankets smelled musky, but maybe he'd sleep in peace as long as no one could find him to bother him. The man was feeling a little hungry, but he didn't feel up to dealing with the people of the house. Was there any hope for avoiding them for the rest of his days? Probably not, but he'd put it off for as long as he could. For now, Jack was going to sleep it out and worry about it once he got some rest, it's been a long day.


	8. Forced To Socialize With People Other Than Jeff

The first thing Jack noticed as he woke up was that the blankets no longer smelled like teen angst. Jack sat up abruptly and patted down his surroundings before coming to the conclusion that he was back in his room, somehow. He'd always thought of himself as a light sleeper, so how could he end up back? The more he thought about it, the more he became unsettled by the thought. His thought process was interrupted by the growling of his stomach. Right, he hadn't been fed in a while. With a sigh, he slid out of bed and stretched, still dressed from yesterday. He should probably go get his laundry as well, remembering that he'd left it in the laundry room. Hopefully it wasn't covered in mildew.

 

Jack opened his door and stepped out, still drowsy. He made a move for the kitchen before spotting Masky on the couch. God he sucked. Jack held his breath and turned around to go right back inside his room, not today. Alas, it was too late, Masky spotted him and target locked him.

 

"Jack, good morning. Come sit down, I want to talk to you." The words would've seemed warm enough if Masky could hide the tone of contempt just a little bit better. "I made coffee."

 

"Ah... yeah I was actually going to go get my laundry and something to eat."

 

"It's already done and sitting on top of the dryer." Masky stared hard at him before pushing the second cup a few inches in Jack's direction. "Coffee."

 

Jack sighed and sat down on the couch, grabbing the mug. "Look, if this is about me threatening to eat you, I'm sorry."

 

"That's what you said to me?!"

 

Jack took an anxious sip of his coffee before replying. "...No?"

 

Despite the fact that Masky, true to his name, was wearing a mask, Jack could tell he just had the most disgusted look on his face. "Actually I wanted to talk to you about your aggressiveness. It's normal for us, but it's inconsistent for your profile, which would be fine, but you're too dangerous to have lashing out or being unpredictable. If you don't think you could handle living here, you should probably get out. Like today."

 

Jack laughed and put the coffee down. "Wow, um, I'm sorry did you just imply that I should get the hell out of the house because I'm a potential menace? I can handle myself just fine, thanks." Jack lifted his mask just enough to expose his long, razor-sharp, gleaming white chompers, snapping them at Masky. "But who's to say, am I right?"

 

Masky visibly jumped as Jack taunted him, quickly regaining composure, but not fast enough for the taller man to be impressed. "Do not joke about that!" Masky hissed, standing up over Jack. "It's dangerous having a cannibal in here and frankly I want you gone before you start influencing Jeff."

 

"What, you think I can just talk someone into eating people? This isn't exactly a lifestyle choice for me," Jack stood to match Masky, towering over him. "I'm not a psycho killer like the rest of you are. I actually have to do what I do, the rest of you made that conscious decision to be the scum of the earth."

 

"Oh? So now the cannibal is preaching from his superior moral high ground, huh?" Masky tried to get into his face and poked him roughly in the chest. "News flash, we all have our reasons and you're not special."

 

Jack growled and shoved Masky back and stood his ground. "Will you starve to death if you don't kill? I didn't think so, so what's your damage with me? I've known you for a whole day at best. I'm a good person, I never wanted to hurt anyone-"

 

"Actually I could die if I don't kill, so don't play that card on me. And if you really didn't want to hurt people anymore, maybe you should die," Masky sneered, careful to keep a little distance between himself and the cannibal, "Think of all those people you've hurt, think of the two kids who don't get to see their dad again because you ate him on his way home, think of the army veteran whose ex-wife didn't want to collect what little you left of him, think of the woman who they could only identify by her dental records because you ate all other identifying features. Think about it cannibal! You disgust me, do you even remember who your victims are? Or are they just faceless meals for you?"

 

The blue masked man didn't know how to respond. Masky was standing in front of him, panting after his winding speech. It would be so easy to walk two steps forward and lunge for the common carotid artery. It would prove some points Masky just made about him, but it was so easy to make him shut up. The image of Masky choking on his own overflowing blood as Jack ate at the flesh of his face flashed briefly in his head before Jack shook it off. That's not how you deal with problems as a person.

 

"I..." Jack stood there dumbly before walking around Masky and going into the kitchen. He could deal with the angry little man later. Getting his clothes seemed safer than continuing the talk with Masky. Truthfully, the intrusive thought of him murdering Masky scared him a little bit. Jack came to the chilly realization that he had been thinking of killing as a solution a lot lately. Sure, they were mostly brief thoughts that he knew would never come to fruition, but he also hadn't thought about how easily those thoughts could become reality if he didn't exercise some self-restraint. That was bad, those thoughts were bad, and he made a mental resolution to control them a little better. After all, he could get in a lot of trouble if he decided to eat one of the people who lived here, and he doubted the clown or the lamppost could be killed and eaten if he had to fight his way out.

 

"Hey, I'm not done with you cannibal!" Jack braced himself as he heard Masky quickly approaching. "You don't get to just walk away when someone's talking to you."

 

"Actually, I can, and I am done." Jack's voice was calm, he couldn't afford to get angry, not when he was still close to snapping on the feminine masked man. "I want to go get my laundry, and I want to get breakfast. You should leave me alone." He hadn't even turned around to acknowledge Masky, just quietly bowing his head a little bit. "Leave me alone, or I'm informing Slender that you're harassing his doctor and trying to get him to leave."

 

Masky swallowed nervously and waved Jack away as he left to go back to the tv. "Fine, but I wasn't telling you to leave, technically, I only implied that you should."

 

Jack sighed in relief, he was worried Masky would keep provoking him. Was it even possible to be on his good side when he despised what Jack was and what he did?

 

'I think he's only said my name once this whole time, he just refers to me as cannibal. He's dehumanizing me. Well, I suppose I'm not all that human anymore anyways.'

 

"Great, I have depression now." Jack pushed through his thoughts and picked up his clothes, they were still on top of the dryer, and surprisingly warm, like someone had only put them in shortly before. The brunette pulled the hoodie over himself and embraced the soft warmth over his arms and torso, it made him feel calmer with a little piece of himself back. Time for food.

 

Jack roamed back into the kitchen and opened up the refrigerator, scanning the shelves for food before realizing that they probably didn't keep human flesh in there. Right, Laughing Jack made his meal last time, and he had neglected to ask where he kept the meat. He closed the fridge and nearly had a heart attack as KageKao stood right beside him in silence, sipping a glass of red wine, at, according to the oven clock, 7:34 in the morning.

 

"You look hilariously stupid, dumb little American." KageKao said sweetly, a smile on his mask.

 

Jack was bewildered. "Wh- What the f uck did I do?! Are all of you this malicious? God!" Jack threw up his hands and walked away, muttering to himself about taking Masky's advice and getting out since he clearly wasn't welcome here. KageKao's mask switched over to horror as he moved to catch Jack before he could exit.

 

"Wait wait, you understand me?"

 

"Yeah I understand you! And I understand you're an ass too. Get out of my way, I'm going to bed." Jack was feeling miserable enough without getting dogpiled, and he wanted to get moving before the rest woke up and ragged on him as well.

 

KageKao's mask changed back into the smile as he hugged Jack hard enough to crack his back and lifted him off the ground. "Oh this is a blessing! You can actually understand me! I've been living with these idiots for years and I just insult them all day and they nod like the ninnies they are. But finally! Finally I can have some intelligent conversations with someone! How do you come to know Japanese?"

 

Jack was struggling to breathe in KageKao's death grip until he was carefully set down. "I know what now?" Jack was trying to catch his breath as he watched KageKao, processing what the weird creature just threw at him. "I don't know Japanese, what the fuck?"

 

"Of course you do, it's the only language I speak and you're talking to me in my native tongue right now." KageKao was absolutely beaming with excitement.

 

"But- you're speaking English. It sounds like English to me," Jack explained exasperatedly. "Are you positive you're not speaking English? You said you've lived here for years, right? You might've picked something up."

 

"They've never bothered to learn my language, why would I bother with theirs?" The split masked creature spat, suddenly shifting into an angry expression with a jagged frown.

 

"Solid point," Jack nodded. "But ah, I still stand firmly by the fact that I've never spoken a word Japanese in my life."

 

KageKao shrugged. "Eh, you're speaking it now, and that's good enough for me. Come, we can have a drink to celebrate!"

 

Jack couldn't help gawking at him, this was just the weirdest thing he'd ever encountered. "It's seven in the morning, we haven't even eaten yet, and you want to drink?" "Are you an alcoholic?" Jack wanted to add, but it seemed rude to say outloud.

 

"Yes! Trust me, the only way to get through living with buffoons is to be drunk nearly all waking hours."

 

Jack looked at him dumbfounded, searching for something to say before caving. "You know what? After the week I've had, I could go for a drink."

 

"Excellent, I have a rather sweet bottle waiting for us in my bedroom, you like red?" KageKao left in the direction of the stairs, truthfully Jack was surprised he wasn't being dragged like the other brutes in the house seemed to enjoy doing. He quickly followed after, the split-masked creature was fast on his feet.

 

"Sure, I've never been much for wine but I'm always open to new things." Jack stayed close as KageKago breezed through the hall and up another short flight of stairs. "Third story?"

 

"It has a nice view that I like." KageKao gave a sidelong glance back at Jack before opening up his room, exposing the dainty monochrome interior with mahogamy wood wine racks lining one side of the wall. It wasn't like Jeff's room, there was actual air flow that smelled fresh and sunlight pouring in from double glass doors that extended outwards from the opposite side of the room. It was an open, spacious place that gave a sense of freedom.

 

Jack was stunned by the stark contrast from what he was expecting. He strode over to the glass doors and peered through the billowing white curtains. "You're the one with the round balcony? Fancy." The brunette's gloved hand grazed over the railing as he looked out over the vast over abundance of trees. Some patches looked grey and dead, some were lush and green, all of it kept a thirty yard radius away from the house by a clearing of dewy green grass. "What a pretty morning..." Jack mumbled.

 

"Told you, the view is nice." KageKao appeared beside him, holding out a second delicate glass of red wine. Jack regarded it hesitantly before taking it, lifting up his mask just enough to expose his lips. KageKao stopped him from taking a sip by placing a finger over the glass, lowering it. "We should make a toast first, to a newfound friendship in the midsts of idiots."

 

Jack grinned, raising his glass to clink with the masked creature, the wine lightening in the rising sunlight. "Alright, to friendship."

 

"To friendship."


	9. The Social Hierarchy

"So why does Masky hate me so much then?" Jack was on his third glass already. It was making him feel sick and it didn't taste good, but he needed to take the edge off, and it seemed rude to turn it down, especially after KageKao spoke so highly of it. Besides, he doubted it was the wine, he'd had much more potent drinks than this. The brunette suspected it was another 'perk' of his metamorphosis, ruining the taste of anything that wasn't slathered in what his new dietary plan called for.

 

"Simple," the red liquid seemed to disappear into KageKao's mask. "You are better than him, but he wants to assert dominance before you realize that." The creature offered Jack a refill, which he begrudgingly accepted.

 

The brunette scoffed. "What, like some sort of faux alpha dog?"

 

"Precisely. He's what we call a Proxy. In our line of work, he's at the bottom rung. Expendable. An unpaid intern that never gets to leave. Are you familiar with the term Untouchables in India?" KageKao spoke so casually, like it was nothing more than the weather outside.

 

"Jesus Christ that's dark--" Jack stared at him horrified before taking a very long swig of his drink. "No wonder he's bitter."

 

"And your arrival pushes him down one more step," the creature sipped his wine delicately, lounging over the edge of the balcony. "If you play your cards right, you could rise to the top in this place. Earn respect, gain benefits, even your own Proxy. You're already on your way with your skillset."

 

Jack was still caught up on Masky and his placement. "But... that's inhumane, why is he treated like that and the rest aren't?"

 

"Do we look human to you?" KageKao's mask was still the same smile, but his tone was annoyed. "He's a Proxy. So is Hoodie. That's just custom in our world."

 

Jack wanted to counter, but he was feeling too sickly to continue. He was already on the floor of the balcony so he just fell to his side and curled up. "Ugh..."

 

KageKao leaned over and looked down at Jack. "If you're going to die, don't do it here."

 

Jack half-heartedly bared his teeth at KageKao before rolling over. "Where's Jeff?"

 

The creature shrugged. "Masky sent him out somewhere."

 

The brunette paused and looked back at KageKao. "Wait, you just said Masky, a Proxy, was at the bottom rung of the social ladder, but he can order Jeff around? Does that make Jeff a Proxy as well?"

 

"No no, are you daft?" Jack frowned at the creature's condescending tone. "Masky is a Proxy of Slender, Slender is the host here. Since Masky reports directly to him, he has some authority to send us out on what he thinks Slender would consider important. We are free to challenge, but it could make for an angry Slender and no one wants that."

 

"Can I sleep on your bed then?" Jack sighed in disappointment. Of course Masky would send him out. God forbid he cast his evil 'influence' on dear innocent Jeffrey.

 

"Sure, it's basically decoration, I sleep on the ceiling."

 

Jack rubbed his face under his mask before squinting up at KageKao. "What are you?!"

 

"What are you?!" The monochrome creature countered offendedly, finishing off the glass in his hand.

 

"That is a... very good question." Jack's head was starting to hurt badly, and he could feel the burning sensation of vomit building in the back of his throat as his body threatened to throw up the many ounces of 1967 Chateau Haut Rocher. "Christ I'm not even drunk and my body's acting like I'm mid-hangover."

 

KageKao swung his leg over gracefully, stepping around Jack and nudging him with his foot. "In that case, would you mind sleeping here on the floor? I don't like messes in my room."

 

"Please God do not touch me." Jack curled up tighter, hands vainly clutching at his pounding head.

 

"Great! I will see you after breakfast."

 

"No wait I didn't--" Jack reached out to KageKao, but he was already closing the doors behind him. Great, he was stuck outside three stories up, he was in too much pain to even try getting inside. At least he had a nice view. Jack tried his best to just focus on that. The sun rose over the treetops until it was high enough to touch the brunette and cover him in a bright blanket. As soon as he was safe in the sun's embrace, Jack embraced sleep. The black and white figure would come back soon enough.

 

 

~*~

 

 

"Get up, lazy lump." Jack groaned as another foot prodded him. These people needed to learn personal space. "You missed another meal." The taller man looked up blearily at the black and white mask, but not the one he wanted.

 

The brunette sat up and addressed him dismally. "I wasn't hungry."

 

Jack could feel Masky rolling his eyes behind his mask before a surprising roll of concern coursed through him, softening his tone. "How often do you need to eat?"

 

"Um, three meals a day, I guess." Masky's sudden sympathetic attitude caught Jack off-guard and he rose unsteadily to his feet, standing short of a foot over the other man. "Why do you care?"

 

"I don't fancy you eating me in my sleep because you wouldn't take care of yourself, that's why." The man in the yellow-brown jacket narrowed his eyes at Jack, back in his hostile state. "Are you waiting for an invitation? Go downstairs and eat." Masky gestured with his arm to the door, like Jack was some dumb mutt.

 

"Oh, okay." Jack still wasn't feeling great, mental processes slowed by the alcohol consumption, so it was probably good that Masky was pointing him in the right direction. Jack lumbered slowly down the stairs with an impatient Proxy on his heels. "You know you can go around me if you want."

 

"Clever gambit, but I'm making sure your neglectful ass actually goes and eats instead of slinking off to sleep or do whatever it is you do."

 

Jack paused on the stairs and turned to face Tim. "And what exactly happened to all that talk about how I should starve myself and die because it would be better than me being a cannibal? I don't think it was more than a couple hours ago right? You're doing a pretty good 180° trying to make me eat."

 

Masky averted his gaze to the stairs beyond Jack before answering quietly. "I was... made aware of a few things that hadn't been properly brought to my attention before."

 

Jack frowned under his mask before reaching out for the Proxy, who instinctively recoiled, a familiar glint of revulsion glinting behind his mask, now accompanied with a glimmer of fear.

 

"If you touch me, I'm morally obligated to punch you in the throat, cannibal," Masky spat. Jack raised his hands in defensive defeat and backed down the last few steps before turning around. Jack could already detect the scent of a meal for him on the counter, and he was suddenly very aware of how absolutely starving he was. He had his hands on the plate in a flash, barely controlling himself as he sat in a chair. He was only distracted from his meal when he saw an orange blur jump up and bolt out of the kitchen, a faint prayer murmured as Hoodie held his fingers up in a cross formation.

 

Jack paused with a mouth half full of food and turned to Masky, who was trailing along. "What's...?" He pointed perplexed in the direction Hoodie took off in.

 

"Jesus, use a fork-" Masky's face crumpled behind his mask distastefully. "And don't mind him," he rolled his eyes. "He's convinced you're the devil."

 

The brunette tried to swallow his food to retort and choked instead, coughing and wheezing weakly until Masky swatted him squarely in the upper back.

 

"Chew your f ucking food! What's wrong with you?!"

 

Jack gasped for air before cackling feebly. "Ahaha... you care." Masky swatted at him again, this time at the back of his head. Jack ducked his head apologetically before tilting his head at Tim. "Could you get me some water please?"

 

The shorter man scoffed. "Do I look like your maid? You're capable of getting it yourself." Masky gave a side glance at Jack before clearing out to the living room to join his fellow Proxy. Jack sighed, but not because he had to get up and scavenge for a cup. Masky was hard to tolerate, but he didn't know the Proxy's side of the story. Maybe he was cursed, he seemed to have disdain for Jack but who else did he despise? Probably Slender himself if that's who he 'belonged' to. The brunette made a mental resolution to be kind to Masky, even if he was being a prick. Okay, maybe not kind, but at least not cruel.

 

'Just gotta use my customer service voice.'

 

Jack finally tracked down a cup as Jeff trekked in, blood splattered on his porcelain white hoodie. He looked tired, no, actually he looked bored. Jack wasn't quite sure how to react, so he just sputtered the first word that came to mind. "Dude!"

 

"Oh don't get your feathers ruffled Mother Hen, none of it's mine." Jeff made a poor attempt at rolling his lidless eyes before sitting down, looking at Jack's plate. "What is this?"

 

"Mine! Do not eat that--" Jack warned frantically. "I promise that it's not edible for you." The brunette watched Jeff recoil from the plate he was about to touch, the same kind of reaction Masky had when he was almost touched by Jack. It was not helping the poor man's diminishing self esteem. He grabbed his cup of water and sat back down at the table, suddenly sullen as he finished off his food. Feeding actually made him feel a lot healthier than he was compared to earlier. It wasn't until he finished his water that he noticed the bleached teen gawking at him. "What?"

 

"Hey I just realized you have like, hella pointy teeth." Jeff suddenly jabbed his finger in Jack's still partially exposed face, touching the glossy surface of his canines.

 

"Ow! What--" Jack slapped Jeff's hand away before firmly pushing down his mask. "Do you ever think before shoving your hand near a cannibal's face or is that skull of yours empty?" The brunette got up to wash his plate before turning to Jeff. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that, kid."

 

Jeff raised an eyebrow before kicking his feet up on the chair. "God, you almost sounded like Masky for a minute there. Of course I didn't think about it, you're not going to bite me."

 

"Huh." The taller man allowed a smile to cross his face. Jeff seemed pretty certain on his stance. "Still though, this," he gestured around himself. "Is my personal space. I may not bite you, but no touching. Also I'm 100% certain you've seen my teeth before."

 

"Maybe." The teen in the white hoodie shrugged before sitting up fully. "Hey I almost forgot, I got you something." He reached into his pocket and threw a colored sphere at Jack, who caught it flawlessly. "It's a stress ball that looks like the Earth, so you can pick a state or country you don't like and then stab at it with your nails."

 

'Texas.'

 

"Oh wow, thanks kid." Jack examined it before giving it a good few squeezes. "I'm surprised you got something for me at all." It certainly was cute, and maybe it could help with his new anxiety filled life. "I don't have anything to give back though."

 

"It's supposed to be a gift, it's not a trade." Jeff joined Jack by the sink to wash the drying blood off of his knife. Jack grimaced and backed off, not escaping the attentive gaze of his comrade. "You're still uncomfortable with me killing, huh?"

 

"Mmm, yeah..." Jack admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't think it's a thing I can just get comfortable around, you know? Not really cool with murder."

 

Jeff dried the weapon dotingly before tucking it away in the pocket of his hoodie. "You realize we're not going to feed you forever, right? I mean LJ makes the meals but you don't even like him. You have to catch your own food eventually."

 

The man in the black hoodie squeezed his new stress ball anxiously as he weighed out the probable future. "In cold blood? I-I can't do that. In fact I will not do that--"

 

"Woah, chill out. You're going to bust that stress ball in the first hour if you keep up like that." Jeff circled around the the brunette, sizing him up. "Tell you what, you don't have to kill anyone, but you can come with me tomorrow night to uh, keep me company."

 

"I don't think..."

 

"Sleep on it, okay?" Jeff patted Jack's shoulder reassuringly before heading upstairs. Jack sighed as he used his thumb to stab Texas, wondering what he was supposed to do now. Jack didn't want to sleep on it, or even just think about it. Killing was wrong, and sitting back and watching someone else do it wasn't all that much better. However, Jeff was probably right. How much longer would they keep up with his dietary demands?


	10. An Offering, Two Threats, and Three Surprises

Jack felt sick to his stomach again, and not because of indigestible wine this time. Counting the night he arrived, he'd been here about three days, and they already wanted him to carry his weight around the house. Technically Jeff just wanted him to accompany him, but Jack was sure the others would push him to go. It was nice living here, meals and a warm bed, a place to wash his clothes, even company. But the company was disgusted or afraid of him, his meals were made by a sinister clown he didn't trust as far as he could throw him, and his clean clothes and soft bed were at a price he wasn't sure he could pay.

 

One could argue that he was already a killer, so his moral conflict was meaningless, but the brunette would digress. He had no control over himself after his initial transformation. All he could see was red. All he could smell was food. Masky was right, he couldn't put names or even faces to his previous meals, he could hardly remember hunting them at all. Killing while fully in control of himself would throw him under even worse guilt than his faceless victims, and he tried throwing himself to the mercy of the elements at the first glimmer of self when he found out what he did. Could he ever forgive himself if he went through with this? No.

 

"You want to eat the sausage but you don't want to see how it was made. I had higher hopes."

 

"Who the f--" Jack swiveled his head around wildly. He had gone out on the front porch for fresh air and was completely alone as far as he knew. This wasn't Slender's tone, it was the same one he heard when he was hallucinating in the shower. Jack could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest, he still couldn't see anyone. The brunette felt a chill run through him despite the warm black hoodie, and it took him a minute to realize it wasn't just his nerves, the air around him was cold. Jack gave another quick nervous glance around his surroundings before sliding back inside the front door.

 

"I need something to do..." Anything to distract him would be better than dwelling on the weird voice in his head, taunting him at random. Slender seemed like a safe option, Slender wasn't afraid of him, Slender didn't expected any life-altering answers on the fly, Slender wasn't a judgemental jerk hell-bent on exposing him as a menace. Well, he did almost dislocate Jack's wrist the other day. Still, he seemed like the lesser of many evils.

 

'But where is he?' Jack folded his arms and looked around until he caught the sound of two barely audible voices to his left, they sounded urgent. Being the curious man that he is, Jack found himself following the sound to a pair of double doors.

 

"....Can't keep up with the quota this month, they want more from us now that some hicks from the backwoods are emerging and asking for less than half payment for what they bring in. Sir, I need my medications"

 

"And you will get them. This is why we're recruiting, I'm painfully aware that we've been falling behind and it's only due to the grace of my brother that we've been getting the necessary supplies. This is another reason why it's important that you play nice with Jack. You should try inviting him out on a hunt, we need him to want to stay."

 

Jack heard a slight uncertain pause as he waited with baited breath, listening in on what Masky and Slender had to say about him. "Something about him sets me off."

 

"And nobody else does in this house full of killers?"

 

"Sir-"

 

"No. You're nice to him or you go. I can afford to lose you."

 

This time it was a long moment of silence before a soft "Yes sir." was heard, followed by the padding of Masky's tired feet to the door. Jack moved quickly, lining himself up against the wall so Masky wouldn't see him when he opened the right side. The brunette had a slight hunch that the man wouldn't be happy to see him. As Masky left through the predicted door, Jack slipped inside, letting the door fall shut behind him. Slender didn't see him at first, and it wasn't until Jack cleared his throat that he was acknowledged at all.

 

"Oh! You've found my office. Have a seat my child."

 

"I'm twenty. But okay." Jack stood by one of the plush red chairs in front of Slender's cluttered yet organized desk for a moment before sitting down, folding his arms over his chest. Slender laced his fingers on the polished wood waiting for Jack to speak, twiddling them as the silence continued. The blue masked man just glared on, letting it fill the room.

 

Slender finally got sick of the waiting game and cut the tension. "Did you need something, Jack?"

 

"Yes actually," Jack leaned forward and placed his fists on the table. "How can you treat Masky like that? 'I can afford to lose you'? That broke my heart and I wasn't even the one getting chewed out. If you're going to demand that he treats me nice, you have to do the same to him. Or I'm leaving. Because that," Jack pointed back at the door. "That is not okay and I won't stand for it."

 

Slender listened patiently before leaning back in his own chair. "So, you were eavesdropping. That's incredibly rude."

 

Jack was at a loss for words. "Eav- I- Wh- Rude?! What's rude is having an entire sub social class! Why do you even need 'Proxies'?"

 

Slender sighed and rotated his chair so he didn't have to look at Jack directly. "Did you hear the entire conversation?"

 

"No, but I heard enough to make my argument."

 

The tall faceless being nodded to himself, thinking. "Did you hear anything about the next host meeting? I'd like you to come with me, you seem diplomatic when you're not being an eccentric."

 

"Wait no, you do not get to change the subject!"

 

"I don't need to justify myself. I have graciously allowed you into my home-"

 

"Which I will gladly move out of in a heartbeat if you don't give me one really good reason why you have a system of inequality like this."

 

Slender chuckled. "And where exactly would you go?"

 

"I'd... Find a place. Somewhere." Jack folded his arms again, switching to defensive.

 

"Unlikely. You're untrained, unorganized, and unwilling," Slender counted off the traits on his fingers before fully facing Jack again. "Do you know why I keep Proxies? They're convenient. I think convenience is a small price to pay after I've saved their lives."

 

'Saved their lives...?' Jack wanted to press further, but Slender's tone was a warning that he'd regret pursuing this, for now at least. "My apologies," Jack forced out. "I didn't know you saved their lives."

 

The tall faceless man seemed to relax, having won the argument. "It's quite alright, I know you like to seek answers, just be cautious on how you go about it. Is there anything else you require or want to inquire?"

 

Jack bit his tongue, standing up. "I suppose not. I'll see myself out." The brunette turned to leave when he felt the shoulder scrunching sensation of one of Slender's appendages on his shoulder. 'Please dear God stop touching me--'

 

Slender sighed. "Jack, I really think you should consider coming with me to the next meeting, it could be beneficial for you to meet some of the network we have."

 

"Oh right, yeah that thing," Jack slipped out from under Slender's tentacle, making a getaway for the door. "I'll uh, think about it." The brunette slammed the door shut and sighed, resting against the wall before he felt a hand around his throat. 'Never a moment's rest around here huh?'

 

"Listen," Masky started, pinning Jack harder against the wall. "I don't know what your game plan is here, but you are to never ever try to meddle with my personal life. I deal with shit my own way and having a knight only gets in my way, comprende?"

 

"You know, Slender thinks eavesdropping is pretty rude." Jack inhaled sharply as Masky knocked his head back into the wall. The blue masked man growled and gripped Masky's wrist, forcing him to let go of his throat. "I'm starting to get really sick of people touching me." He shoved the smaller man away from him, holding his own aching head. "A sshole, fine I'm sorry I'm not cool with your guy's fucked up way of life, I won't get involved. Just stop trying to fight me!" Jack stormed off, feeling frazzled and frankly fatigued.

 

"I deserve a nap," Jack groaned as he fell back onto his bed and rubbed his face under his mask. "A long one." The brunette sighed. Jeff was probably right, he shouldn't sleep away his problems, he wasn't even that tired yet. Jack sighed louder and sat up, perking as his gaze snagged something sitting on his nightstand. "Huh? Oh!"

 

A book. A beautiful three by five inch spiral book with black hardback and crisp white pages. If Jack had them, he'd be starry-eyed. He made a quick grab for it and delicately flipped through the pages. So well textured at the touch, perfect for drawing, watercolor if he tore out the page, and the backsides were tailored for writing. All completely blank. 

 

'I can already just about forgive whoever came in my room to drop this beauty off.' Jack held the book close to his chest for a moment before a small, neatly-folded note slipped out from the back cover. The brunette gingerly picked it up and unfolded it. In perfect calligraphy, so much so that it almost seemed printed, two words.

 

A Gift


	11. Clowns Suck And I'll Hate Them Till I Die

A Gift 

 

'Without a name.' Jack clicked his tongue in disappointment. This could've been the perfect gift if whoever gave it hadn't thrown him in the dark with this dash of mystery. Something about leaving a note sparked more of a burning to know than leaving nothing at all. Jack held it closer to examine it with more scrutiny. Single sharp vertical center fold, clean dark red ink, shimmered in the light if he tilted it just so. Slender or KageKao may have been capable of such a flawless execution, but neither would've done this anonymously. Slender would've been direct and handed it to him in person, KageKao was too prideful to have left it unsigned.

 

Jack folded the paper into it's original position and tucked it back inside the book, he'd have to study it further with the right tools. Preferably coco powder, a stolen makeup brush, white paper, and some tape. Worst case scenario, he could rummage around for a magnifying glass to see what he could dredge up. Maybe it wasn't such a bad gift after all, more like a fun game.

 

A rattling of the doorknob derailed Jack's train of thought and he made the snap decision to slide the book under his pillow. Something about it... he didn't want to share this. It was his mystery, his personal puzzle to piece together. He pulled his hand away just as a tuft of black hair and fluffy shoulder pads poked through the frame, large obsidian claws wrapping around the door, clicking menacingly. Jack could feel his blood pressure spiking as that sugar high voice sounded.

 

"Jaaaaaackyyyyyyyy~!"

 

As much as Jack willed the universe to prevent that g oddamn clown from entering the room, Laughing Jack burst in anyways. "Awwww Jacky, I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"

 

'I was hoping it'd be longer--'

 

Jack grimaced behind his mask. "Oh... hey um, could you just refer to me as Jack, please? I would really appreciate it. Truly."

 

"Of course," Laughing Jack nodded solemnly, before giving him a sly side eye. "I'm sorry if I upset you, Boring Jack."

 

Jack stood there dumbfounded. Boring? Unexpected, and not exactly the word he'd use to describe himself. Had it been anyone else, he might've taken the bait. Laughing just wanted to play with him. But the absolute audacity of this emo clown could not be allowed to slide. He scoffed in disbelief for a lack of words and stood up to LJ, barely reaching his chest. "I don't appr-"

 

The lanky clown's face suddenly lit up, wide piercing grey-blue eyes staring into Jack's soul as he interrupted him. "You don't think you're boring? That's so great to hear! We're going to have so much fun cooking, and then I don't have to take care of you anymore like the pet I never wanted. Yay!" He waved some jazz hands in Jack's face, startling him with both his large claws and cruel sarcasm.

 

"Y-Your voice sounds sweet but those words are bitter." Jack stepped back to put some space between him and the clown, but didn't very far as LJ clacked his claws around his wrist. Jack attempted to pull his hand away, but it might as well have been a steel trap. "Come on, let go of me!" Laughing Jack either didn't hear him or didn't care, merely making a small 'pop' sound with his lips as he dragged Jack unceremoniously to the kitchen.

 

"I've already set the meat out so we can get right to it!" The clown slammed the meat down with a sickening squelch onto the counter. Jack watched apprehensively as LJ shredded it into ribbons like it was nothing but paper. "Well we start with lots and lots of sugar to caramelized the tender meat," he purred, throwing the torn strips into a bowl full of sugar. "Then we-"

 

"I know how to cook, one of my sisters was a chef," Jack interrupted. "Just tell me where the meat is so I can do it by myself." 'And avoid the apparent type two diabetes you've been trying to give me.' 

 

LJ stopped tossing the meat in the sugar bowl and clacked his claws against the marbled counter, pursing his shiny black lips as he thought about it. "Okay..." He scraped his claws clear of the crystallizing sugar. "Come on then." He sounded despondent, sulking past with an ugly frown. Jack wrung his hands worriedly as he followed along to an unfamiliar part of the house past the laundry room. Laughing Jack threw the door open, letting it hit the wall with a force that sent a jolt up Jack's spine. "In the basement."

 

'I feel like going into a dark scary basement with a pissed off clown in an unfamiliar house is exactly the kind of thing my parents would yell at me about.' Jack did not move from the doorway, folding his arms across his chest as he stared blankly at the clown, thankful he had his mask as to not give away his thoughts. LJ gave an overly loud sigh of irritation and marched down the steps without Jack, leaving the brunette to stare down the endless inky blackness. After a minute or two of silence, the cannibal finally walked down after him.

 

The darkness swallowed him as he tentatively found his footing with each step, there wasn't a handrail to hold on to. When he finally reached the bottom, LJ greeted him by clicking the light on, his sadistic grin plastered back on his face. "Oh Jacky, I knew you'd come!" He clapped his hands together and made a grand gesture at the huge freezer against the bleak stone walls. Jack sighed quietly at the nickname, whatever, he'd rather let the clown have it than start another fruitless argument. He did admire the large stainless steel chest freezer though, it was big enough to store a grown man, uncut. Laughing kept gesturing to it, inviting the brunette to open it already.

 

Jack flipped open the top of the freezer and reached inside, pulling out a surprisingly light limb. Actually, it was just small. Jack looked back at the clown in confusion, holding the tiny arm. "Did you k ill a midget?" It was so small, he could wrap his fingers around the widest part. Laughing Jack shook his head, it was not a midget. Jack dug through the freezer in a frenzy, they were all little limbs, little arms and legs, little torsos and little tummies, little eyes staring back up at him, forever glassed over. Jack dropped to the ground, staring at the freezer in horror.

 

"You okay Jacky?" The clown grazed his shoulder in a very non-comforting way before picking up the dropped arm and tossing it back into the freezer, closing the lid so as to not let the cold out.

 

Jack held his arms as he continued to sit on the cold hard floor. "Oh, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit." He needed to get out of the basement, get the hell away from this clown. Oh god, has he been eating children this entire time? This clown has been feeding him literal children, Jesus Christ he's been eating children. LJ reached out for him but Jack smacked his hand away. "Don't f ucking touch me!" He stopped breathing a minute as he weighed his option, and opted to bolt up the stairs, feet pounding on the creaky wood until he got to the top, where he slammed the door shut and locked it. Panting lightly, he listened for the clown's inevitable footsteps, but they never came. He didn't need to stick around to wait for them either, walking off upstairs.

 

Maybe he hadn't been eating children like a literal monster, but there were no grown looking figures in that freezer. He knew something was wrong with that clown, he knew he shouldn't have eaten anything that the clown gave him, but it didn't change the fact that he ate it anyways. He hadn't bothered to ask where the meat came from, and why would he? Jack was so lost in thought that he didn't see Jeff until he rammed into him, almost falling backwards off of the stairs.

 

"Jesus Jack! Watch where you're going." Jeff rolled his eyes and moved to walk past, but Jack grabbed his arm. The boy looked confused, as Jack was still breathing heavily. "What's...?"

 

"I'll go hunting with you tonight."

**Author's Note:**

> I can be found at @JustAnAverageJoe on Quotev, where the original story may update first. There's also a slightly different format which I think fits better, along with music in some chapters, but Quotev wants to be garbage so here we are.


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